Wherever parents of small children gather, two words dropped into the conversation are guaranteed to detonate like Molotov cocktails. Those words are Gina and Ford.

Gina Ford, the country’s best known baby guru, is loved and loathed, possibly in equal measure. In her massive bestseller, The Contented Little Baby Book, and its follow-ups and spin-off projects, she outlines how to raise happy kids through following her strict routines.

It is impossible to overstate the passions she engenders in frazzled parents, especially mothers. Thousands swear by the Gina doctrine and claim that they would have been lost without her. Others who have tried and failed to make her system work speak of her in vitriolic terms. Now Ford seems to have had enough of the criticism.

Mumsnet, a popular website that allows mothers to share advice and discuss parenting issues, says that Ford’s lawyers are trying to close it down because of adverse comments on her methods posted by some users of the site. In an effort to stay open Mumsnet has asked users to avoid any mention of Ford but commented that doing so was “a bit like barring dis- cussion of Manchester United from a football phone-in”.

The controversy surrounding Ford stems from her position as the queen of routine. The former maternity nurse’s books offer desperate parents strict timetables that Ford claims will ensure that their offspring sleep and eat well. The method is a radical departure from the liberal teachings of other childcare gurus such as Penelope Leach.

One popular refrain from the critics concerns the fact that Ford has no children of her own. How could she possibly know what she is talking about, the argument runs. “In my career as a maternity nurse I’ve looked after 300 babies in 20 countries,” Ford has said in response to this charge. “If you’re having a heart operation do you choose the surgeon who has had ten attacks himself and carried out 20 operations, or the one who has had no attacks and carried out 100?”

She has said she is astonished and hurt by the criticism. “I know what I write is controversial but what surprises me is the vitriolic and personal attacks that people make.” She says she is misunderstood and that those who denounce her books haven’t read them properly: “It’s not about starving your baby or leaving them to cry.” She once said: “I don’t usually answer back because I have only so much energy. I’m not going to waste my time arguing.” She appears to have been prompted to change her mind.